After years of using traditional regulatory tools to block billions of
illegal marketing calls, the FTC says, the agency is launching a public contest
in search of new technical solutions.

The prize: $50,000.

....The agency will be taking entries between Oct. 25 and Jan. 17. Judges
will score proposals based on workability (worth 50 percent), ease of use (worth
25 percent) and the idea’s potential for a wide rollout (worth 25 percent).
Applicants can submit ideas to block pre-recorded marketing calls on landlines,
cellphones or both.

Hooray! Seriously. I don't know if this will work, and I don't know if
$50,000 is enough, but this is a great idea. It's exactly the kind of thing that
might prompt some unappreciated genius to come up with a harebrained idea that's
just crazy enough to work. We should do more stuff like this.

After years of using traditional regulatory tools to block billions of
illegal marketing calls, the FTC says, the agency is launching a public contest
in search of new technical solutions.

The prize: $50,000.

....The agency will be taking entries between Oct. 25 and Jan. 17. Judges
will score proposals based on workability (worth 50 percent), ease of use (worth
25 percent) and the idea’s potential for a wide rollout (worth 25 percent).
Applicants can submit ideas to block pre-recorded marketing calls on landlines,
cellphones or both.

Hooray! Seriously. I don't know if this will work, and I don't know if
$50,000 is enough, but this is a great idea. It's exactly the kind of thing that
might prompt some unappreciated genius to come up with a harebrained idea that's
just crazy enough to work. We should do more stuff like this.